Do you have a ‘career toolkit’ ready?
This Tuesday, I was honorably invited again by Tsinghua University to deliver a guest lecture around the theme of ‘Life and Career Development 2.0’ - this overall subject is very close to the hearts of my fellow schoolmates. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, I delivered my lecture via an online platform and spoke about the importance of getting ready for career development with a toolkit on hand. During the lecture lasting an hour and a half, I shared my career experience of how I continuously broke through my own comfort zone and gradually expanded my roles and responsibilities to lead the Marketing team of APJ & Greater China in SAP.
In my lecture, I gave 3 key suggestions to my fellow schoolmates :
- Be specific about your long-term career goal, make plans for your career development and gradually build up your career toolkit
- Be sure that the career you choose is the one you love and want to dedicate yourself to, and not because it’s a trending one
- Be an intern, as from my experience and perspective, you should keep your feet on the ground and insist on modest learning. You can take good advantage of yourself to achieve some highlights which will then pave the way to expand interpersonal relationship and skills for future development
During the Q&A session, the questions raised by my fellow schoolmates were reflective of the real challenges they faced, such as what kind of skills are necessary in the working world, how to balance internship and academic studies, and how to get along with regular employees during internship. In closing, I also shared some personal recommendations on women in leadership and career development for women.
这个星期二，我很荣幸地再次受邀为清华大学《人生与职业发展2.0》课程做讲座，这也是当下大学生一直关注的话题。疫情当下，我以在线课堂的形式与我的学弟学妹们，就“你的职场工具箱准备好了吗?”这一话题进行了一个半小时的分享与交流。在讲座中，我分享了我如何不断冲破舒适区成长为SAP亚太与大中华区CMO的职业发展之路。我给学弟学妹们提了几个建议：首先，明确远期的职业理想和目标，规划好你的职业发展之路并逐步积累对应的职场工具包。第二，在职业选择时，找到你喜欢、适合自己并愿意为之奋斗的行业和职业最重要，而不要什么行业和职业时髦就做什么。第三，我分享了自己对实习的一点观察与建议。希望学子们实习时要脚踏实地，谦虚学习，同时利用自己的专长做出一些亮点，可以很好地为未来找工作搭好人脉和技能上的铺垫。
在问答环节，同学们提出了的问题也是他们目前遇到的真实挑战，比如到底发展怎样的技能才是社会需要的、如何平衡实习与学业、如何在实习期间处理与正式员工的关系等。我也分享了我在女性领导力和女性职业发展的一些个人建议。